Results of the legislative audit of WVDOH's maintenance budget confirmed that extra money spent on road maintenance over the past several years is paying off in better roads throughout the state.  According to the audit, the WVDOH has doubled the total number of completed projects from the calendar year 2019 to 2022, while steadily increasing production each successive year.  

The Secondary Roads Initiative, launched by Governor Jim Justice in 2019, in conjunction with the $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity Program, specifically targets the roads West Virginians drive on every day for previously underfunded maintenance work.  The core maintenance program, which includes ditching, drainage, mowing, milling and filling potholes, and tree canopy clearing focuses on activities that extend the life of roadways. 

Jake Bumgarner, the Director of the Operations Division for WVDOH, said more than 2,300 miles of paving was done in the past year and 223 acres of tree canopy clearing.  

Bumgarner said that recent WVDOT updates to policies and programs in place have helped set up a direct vision of what the organization is accomplishing on the ground with its core maintenance program. One core maintenance cycle is three years long; meaning that 2023 will mark the beginning of the second core maintenance cycle under the Secondary Roads Initiative.

"What I see when I drive around the state is a lot of work that has been completed," Bumgarner said.  "That is reflected in our core plans and the data we collect.  You can see that difference from not too long ago that we are making on the roads for the citizens of West Virginia."  

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